Melbourne Extension

On arrival into Melbourne this morning you will be met and transferred to your centrally located hotel. You will be met at your hotel a little later for this afternoon’s tour of Melbourne. On your tour, you will discover the diversity of this multi-cultural city. See historical buildings, beautiful gardens, and shopping areas famous for their restaurants and fashions. Melbourne is the sporting city, and Melbourians are passionate about their Aussie Rules footy and almost all sports known to mankind. Travel past the sporting precinct that became famous in the 1956 Olympic Games and now roars to the cheers of Aussie Rules crowds each weekend. See the nearby Rod Laver Tennis Center that hosts the Australian Tennis Open each year. Melbourne is home to people from all over the world and this cultural diversity is expressed in the food and fashion centers. Walk along the shopping strips of traditional Toorak, funky Chapel Street Prahran, or cultural Vietnamese Bridge Street Richmond. You will return to the Melbourne Botanical Gardens for afternoon tea near the banks of the Yarra River. Then, enjoy a drive to the Italian precinct of Lygon Street Carlton and see the historic Exhibition Buildings alongside the ultramodern Melbourne Museum. Later, return to your hotel, and the rest of the day is at leisure. Discover one of the many great restaurants in Melbourne for dinner this evening. Stay overnight at a lovely hotel.

This morning, you will depart Melbourne for the Serendip Open Range Sanctuary, where you will immediately be among wild kangaroos and native birds. Your entrance may be heralded by the screeching of cockatoos or the chattering of honeyeaters. After a short walk to meet the kangaroos, you will begin your special Safari Drive around the Sanctuary to see emus and huge mobs of kangaroos. You can stop often to enjoy the antics of the animals, and you are allowed to disembark for short walks to the lake (home to large populations of water birds) and through the gum trees. You will also visit a protected population of wallabies and get close to some strange Australian birds. Your picnic lunch is served in an open-air setting at the Sanctuary and includes fruit and cakes, coffee, and delicious Australian Billy tea. Your guide will explain the history and recipe for the traditional tea of the Swagmen. Leaving Serendip, travel just a little further west to the bush land of Brisbane Ranges National Park. The park is home to a large and healthy population of wild koalas, which are researched and monitored to ensure the best possible sightings. Take a very easy walk through the gum trees, searching for koalas, wallabies, kangaroos, and birds in their natural setting. Your guide will point out plants and features of interest, explain some of the history of the area, and, where possible, introduce you to known, named koalas that are part of their research project. Return to your hotel late this afternoon. (B,L)

You will be transferred to the airport for your onward flight. (B)